High school football: Shaker Heights powers past University

University had a hard enough time keeping up with Shaker Heights' powerful offense. Giving the Red Raiders more opportunities only made things worse. The Preppers led after one quarter, but turnovers in the second were too much to overcome in a 54-27 home loss. US quarterback John Gannon threw three interceptions in the second quarter - one was returned 96 yards for a touchdown - and a 17-14 lead turned into a 40-14 halftime deficit. "The score was very misleading," US coach Jim Stephens said. "They had a few interceptions and scored so quickly. We were in the game. Shaker is a great team, but if we could take away a couple of the long plays, this was a very different game." Shaker Heights was paced by running back Ramses Owens, who rushed for 196 yards and three touchdowns on 10 carries. He had touchdown runs of 28, 33 and 34 yards in the first half. Raiders QB Brian Jones finished 7 of 10 for 152 yards and two touchdowns. He hit Nolan Jackson-Daniel on an 80-yard touchdown strike in the middle of the 26-0 run in the second quarter. Shaker continued rolling through the second half, leading, 47-17, entering the fourth quarter. "We had a lot of younger guys that had to play because of injuries," Stephens said. "Shaker did a great job of being able to find those young guys and take advantage of them for some big plays." The turning point was Gannon's second interception. With the Preppers trailing, 26-17, and deep in Raiders territory, Odell Spencer picked off a sideline pass and ran 96 yards untouched into the end zone. Spencer, who had two interceptions, also had 53 receiving yards. "I thought we played about as hard as we could," Stephens said. "A lot of these guys from Shaker are Division I-type players. I don't mean in high school. I mean D-I in college." Gannon finished 21-for-36 with 263 yards and a touchdown. Running back Andrew Dorogi had 70 yards on 18 carries. Dorogi, rarely affected by the first defender to reach him, had a powerful 20-yard touchdown run to give the Preppers a short-lived 17-14 lead late in the first quarter. "They didn't out-muscle us or anything, and we were still giving our best effort in the fourth quarter," Dorogi said. "We're not going to play as many teams as good as this. Their depth vs. ours - there's a huge gap." Turnovers aside, it was Owens' running that kept the Raiders in control. The 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior had plenty of gaps to run through and a big enough frame to drag defenders with him. Shaker's line also paved the way for Greg Claytor and Melvin Hampton, who combined for 96 yards. US lost captain lineman Kostas Parrish in the first half with an apparent knee injury. He did not return, setting back both lines. "We were missing one of our best linemen, but that wasn't why we lost," Dorogi said. "I think that shows you how well our younger guys were able step in and make some plays." Preppers kicker Ryder Bell added a pair of field goals from 26 and 28 yards. The Preppers will look for their first win next week at Bedford.